Difficulty Talby
Difficulty Talby was an infant murdered by her Puritan mother Dorothy Talby in 1638. Dorothy was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts for the crime, making her the third known woman to be executed in the United States.20 Feb 2016: Grantham Civic Society Column: Braceby to Massachusetts . . . and murder • Grantham Journal Events Dorothy Talby Dorothy Talby was born Dorothy Rawlinson (variant: Rollinson) in November 1598 in Lincolnshire, England. She married John Talby in Threekingham, Lincolnshire and moved to Whaplode. They had five children.Dorothy Talby (1598-1638) • Find a Grave Lincolnshire, England in the early 17th century was a centre of Puritanism. At some time Dorothy and John Talby were drawn into the Puritan community, and in January 1635 their names first appeared in the Massachusetts records. John was granted an acre (4,050 m²) of land in Salem, Massachusetts and two months later another thirty acres (0.12 km²). Dorothy became pregnant with a sixth child soon after moving to Massachusetts with her husband. In October that year, their sixth child was baptised at the First Church of Salem and christened 'Difficulty'. Such names were not totally uncommon. In the first years of the records of the Church in Salem there are children named Recompense, Exercise, Remember, Provided, Experience and Deliverance. Dorothy's mental health goes downhill In April 1637 Dorothy, who previously showed no signs of mental distress, was convicted at the Salem Court. The record book states "John Talby's wife Dorothy, for frequent laying hands on her husband to the danger of his life ... to be chained to a post, being allowed only to come to the place of God's worship until she repents". To Christians of that era mental illness was the same as being possessed by the devil. The Puritan view of life was strict. Punishments were harsh. Whippings were frequent. A few months later, Dorothy was sentenced to be whipped for misdemeanours against her husband. Difficulty's death Five months after that, in December 1638, Dorothy confessed to the "unnatural and untimely death of her daughter Difficulty Talby". She was found guilty by the jury and was condemned to be hanged." The Journal of State Governor, John Winthrop noted that Dorothy was hanged at Boston on the 6th of December for the murder of Difficulty. "She had been a member of the church of Salem, and of good esteem for godliness...but falling at difference with her husband, through melancholy or spiritual delusions, she sometimes attempted to kill him, and her children, and herself, by refusing meat...Soon after she was so possessed with Satan, that he persuaded her to break the neck of her own child, that she might free it from future misery. This hse confessed upon her apprehension." Dorothy Talby was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts, United States on the 6th of December 1638. She's the third known woman to be executed in the United States. John Talby was excommunicated from the church later for what was called "unnaturalness to his wife" and "much pride". News For all news on Difficulty Talby, see here. External links * American female hangings 1632 to 1937 • Capital Punishment UK * Difficulty Talby (1635-1638) • Find a Grave * Difficulty Taylbye (c. 1636-c. 1638) • Geni * Dorothy Talby (1598-1638) • Find a Grave * Dorothy Talbye trial • Wikipedia Sources Category:1630s murders Category:1630s murders in Massachusetts Category:1630s murders in the United States Category:1638 murders Category:1638 murders in Massachusetts Category:1638 murders in the United States Category:Female murder victims Category:Murders in Massachusetts Category:Murders in the United States Category:Solved murders